Inflatable ball



D 13, 1932 A. J. TURNR 1,890,594

INFLATABLE BALL Filed Jan. 5, 1931 i5 the elimination of the 2o tiallyso forming t choring member and posite the laced in the followingPanarea nee. 13, 1932 J'. TURNER, 0F CHICAGO,

INFIAT I Application med January 5,

My invention relates toI inflatable balls such as basket balls, soccerballs, footballs, etc., having an outer covering or casing, usually ofleather, and an inner bladder of rubber. My invention relates moreparticularly to the t pe of ball shown in United States Patent Nb.

llrl Tubbs, wh

erein the bladder is detachably anchored at the region of the valve tothe ind lo side of an integrall portion of the cover and in throughthecover, usually placed opposite the laced bladder insertion opening.

ne important object of my invention is tendency of the anchorlngmembers, due to their thickness showing through' on the outer surface ofthe ball after the leather covering becomes worn and more pliable. lleffect this object preferably by inithe covering. carried anitsassociated bladdercarried anchoring member that the two will normallyinternest, even in the absence of high internal pressure, whereby, whenfinal ation pressure is reached, the parts are not substantiallydistorted from their normal position.

dy centering in it of the cooperatlng bladder-carried parts, when thebladder is to be anchored to thev cover. This 1s of particular advantagebecause, the inatlon aperture generally being located opopening of thecover, the

operator cannot7 readily see what he is doing.

P he and advantages of my invention are description of a embodimentthereof,

set forth preferred and 1n the attached ig. 2 is a view a ment of thebladder with the valve and anchoring member which it carries and of afragment of the associated part of the cover with the anchoring memberwhich it carries, the two parts being separated to show their inatable1,730,309 to lra d foregoing andI other objects, features on a largerscale of a fragh orifice ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB T0 WILSON-WESTERN GOODS C0.,0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, 1r

naar.`

1931. Serin ne. 5065.555.

position prior to bringing them together for assembly; and

ig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional. view on a still larger scaleshowing the bladder anchored on the inside of the cover and in theposition assumed by the parts when the blader is partly inated.

the exemplary basket ballshown in the rawing, the leather cover 10, madeup from the usual pattern pieces, has the usual laced bladder insertionopening 11 and, preferably diametrically opposite, a small inflationaperture 12. The cover may carry the usual fabric lining 13.

On the inside of the cover and in association with its indation aperture12, there is fixed the cover-carried bladder anchorage member, whichconsists of an internally screw-threaded metallic nut 14, embedded inthe center of a molded rubber block 15. At its margins the block 15 isof reduced thickness, leaving a marginal dang-e 16, which is stitched tothe inside of the cover by a ring of stitching i7 passing through theange and the cover, with the lining 13, if there be any, between. Alayer of fabric 18 is preferably embedded in the top side of the rubberblock 15 to reenforce the dange 16 against tearing by the stitching 17.rllhe securement by the stitching-'17 may be augmented, if desired, bycementing the upper face of the block l'directly to the inside of thecover, in which event, of course, it is advisable to cut away the liningabout the margin of the inflation aperture 12.

The threaded bore of the nut 1d is, of course, allied with the inflationaperture 12. The inflation aperture 12 and the central opening in therubber block 15 above and'below the nut are preferably of only slightlylarger diameter than ,the threaded bore of the nut. The over-lapping ofthe rubber block on the top and bottom ends of the nut serves to cushionthe cover and bladder respectively against the metallic impact or wearof the metal nut.

The bladder-carried anchoring member inl sisting of a primary depression23 receiving the cylindrical nut embracing portion of the cover-carriedrubber member 15 and a secondary depression 24 receiving the flange 16.Beyond the secondary depression 24 there is a marginal flange 25 whichis vulcanized to the inside of thethin sheet rubber wall ofthe bladder26. At the region of the anchorage the sheet rubber wall of the bladder26 is cut away at a diameter preferably that of the secondary depression24 of the member 20.

Where the valve as here shownis to be of the standard tire valvemetallic type 27 and is to be carried by the bladder rather than by thecover, the valve stem 28 is embedded in the tubular portion 21 of thebladder-carried anchorage member 20 and extends outwardly beyond thebottom of the primary depression 23 `where it is externallyscrewthreaded for engaging the cover-carried nut 14. As is usual, theprotruding end of the valve stem is internally threaded for reception ofthe coupling end of the inflating pump. AThe rubber sleeve portion 21envelops the metallic valve tube 28' to protect the bladder againstinternal injury yby chafing against the metal, when, for example, thebladder is collapsed. The parts as shown in Fig. 3 are in the positionswhich they normally assume under only nominal pressure. The moldedrubber members 15 and 20 in particular are in substantially the form inwhich they are molded. While inflating'the ball to playing pressure, theparts are slightly altered in position and shape, but there is nosubstantial distortion. This I consider to be a decided improvement overthe constructions heretofore in use where the covercarried anchoragemember was a relatively thick patch 'and where the bladder-carried valvestem was inserted in an integral inturned neck of the bladder, so thatthe sheet rubber bladder wall normally approached the valve stem at thebase of the protruding end. This meant that when the parts were'assembled and the bladder inflated to playing pressure the sheet rubberwall of the bladder, at the region of the valve, had to stretch itself-into a considerably distorted shape in being pressed tightly againstthe cover-carried anchorage member. This not only subjected t-he rubberWall of the bladder to undue strain at this vital point, but, because ofthe stretching, which was most concentrated immediate the adjacent valvestem, subjected the cover and the cover-carried anchor member to greaterpressure at the margin of the patch than adjacent the valve. Thisresulted in outside of the cover of labout the diameter of thecover-carried anchormember. As the ball continued to be used and theleather cover became more pliable, this ring became more pronounced.vThis same trouble that a ring appearing on the caused the appearanceofthe ring also detracted from the bouncing characteristic of vthe ballwhen it impacted at the region of whatever size and shape is required tomate' the cover-carried anchorage member, I am able successfully to usea nut or other coupling member of considerably greater depth. Thispermits a more rugged and durable anchorage and a mounting wherein thevalve stem is less liable to tilt out of a radial position. Previouslydesigners had to keep the coupling member as shallow as possible oftenreducing them to mere threaded plates.

The mating annularly stepped conformations of the cover-carriedand thebladdercarried anchoring members greatly facilitate the operatorlocating the protruding stem o the valve in the nut when the bladder isbeing anchored on the inside of the cover, even though, as is usuallythe case, the operator is not able to see where he is working.

While I have illustrated and described in detail this specificembodiment of my invention, I contemplate that other adaptations andchanges may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of my.invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an inflatable ball a leather cover having a closable bladderinsertion opening, an inflation aperture spaced therefrom, a moldedrubber nut-attaching member on the inside'of the cover, held inalignment with the inflation aperture, the attaching member being ofreduced thickness at its margins forming av marginal flange, and a ringof stitching through the flange and cover to fix themember on the insideof the cover, and a separate removable bladder having a sheet rubberwall with a cut-away opening, a saucer-shaped molded rubber valvesupporting and anchoring member having a marginal flange secured to saidbladder wall at the margin of said opening and having primary andsecondary preformed central depressions, the primary depression beingdeeper and of lesser diameter and adapted to receive the nut embracingportion of said attaching member, and the secondary depression beingshallower and of greater diameter for receiving the flange of saidattaching member, an inflation stem carried by the supporting andanchoring member and protruding outwardly through the bottom of theprimary depression an threaded for engagement with said nut, a neckportion of said supporting and anchorfoo a nut embraced thereby and ling member enveloping the inner end of said ture spaced therefrom,

stem, to vprotect the inside of the bladder therefrom, and an inflationvalve associated with the stem.

2. In an inflatable ball a cover having a bladder insertion opening, aninflation apera nut vattaching mem' ber on the inside of the cover, anut embraced thereby and held in association with the inlation aperture,the attaching member being of reduced thickness at its margins forming amarginal flange, means for permanently ixing the attaching member to theinside of the cover, and a separate removable bladder having an openingin its wall, a saucer` shaped flexible supporting and anchoring memberhaving a marginal flange secured to said bladder wall and having primaryand secondary prefformed central depressions, the primary depressionbeing deeper and of lesser diameter and adaptedto receive thenutembracing portion of said attaching member, and the secondary depressionbeing shallower and of greater diameter for receiving the iange of saidatt-aching member, an inflation stem carried by the supporting andanchoring member and protruding outwardly through' the bottom of theprimary depression and threaded for engagement with said nut, and aninflation valve associated with the stem.

3. In an inflatable ball a cover having an inflation aperture, acover-carried anchoring y ber, an inflation member ixed tothe inside ofthe cover an embracing a coupling member in association with theaperture, a separate removable blad. der having an opening inits wall, aflexible -cupped supporting and anchoring member having a marginalflangef'secured to' said bladder Wall and having a preformed cent-raldepression for the reception of said coupling embracing attachingmember, an inflation stem carried by the supporting and anchoring memberand protruding outwardly through the bottom of said depression, andconstituting a second coupling member for cooperation with said first.`mentioned cou pling member for detachably anchoring the bladder to theinside of the cover.

4. In an inflatable ball, a cover having an inliation aperture,

outwardly through the bottom of its depression and threaded forco-action with the nut member for detachably anchoring the bladder tothe inside of the cover.

5. A bladder for an inflatable ball comprising a sheet rubber wallhaving acut-away opening, a molded rubber valve supporting and anchoringmember having a marginal Harige vulcanized to the wall about the marginof said opening and having a pre-formed open saucer-shaped centraldepression, an in- -lation stem carried by the supporting member havinga threaded end protruding 0utwardly through the bottom of the depressionand terminating in substantially the plane of the wall, leaving anannular space between the protruding stem and the side wall of thedepression adapted to receive an inwardly protruding cover-carriedpatch-like mounting for a stem-engaging member, and an inliation valveassociated with the stem.

-6. A bladder for an inflatable ball comprising a wall, a cuppedresilient rubber anchoring member having a marginal flange secured tothe wall and a pre-formed opensaucer-shaped central depressionimmediately joining the marginal flange, an intlating stem carried bytheanchoring member and having a coupling portion protruding outwardlyfrom the bottom -of the depression leaving an annular space between thecoupling portion and the side wall of the depression.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 30 day ofDecember, 1930.

ARCHIBALD J. TURNER.

a nut member, means for holding the nut member in registry with theaperture comprising a patch member embracing the nut member and securedat the inf' side of the cover, a separate removable rubber bladderhavlng an`opening in its wall of greater diameter molded rubber stemsupporting and anchoring member having a marginal Bange secured to saidbladder wall adjacent the margin of the opening and having a pre-formedopen saucer shaped central depression for' the reception of said patchmember and nut memstem carried by the supporting and anchoring memberand protruding than the patch member, a a

